Leviticus 6:8

Summary

The verse records a narrative statement that Yehovah spoke to Moses, introducing a divine communication. It is a standard formulaic opening used throughout Leviticus to mark the beginning of a new set of instructions.

Key words

• va ("and", H9001) — the narrative vav prefixed to the verb, linking this statement to the preceding material as a continuation of the narrative sequence.
• y'daBer ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel stem verb, giving an intensive nuance to the act of speaking; combined with the narrative vav it signals a new discrete speech event ("and then he spoke").
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name functioning as the subject of the verb, identifying the speaker.
• mosheh ("Moses", H4872) — the addressee, marked by the preposition 'el ("to", H0413), indicating the direction of the speech.
• Mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, introducing the content of the speech that follows; it functions almost like a colon marking direct discourse.

What the text says

The clause follows a fixed pattern common to legal and narrative sections of Leviticus: verb–subject–prepositional phrase–infinitive of speech. The verb y'daBer ("he spoke", H1696G) opens the sentence, preceded by the narrative vav va ("and", H9001), which ties this speech act into the ongoing sequence of divine communications recorded in the book. The subject Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) follows the verb, a common Hebrew word order in narrative prose (verb-subject rather than subject-verb).

The prepositional phrase 'el-mosheh ("to Moses", H0413 + H4872) specifies the recipient of the speech. The final element, le'mor ("saying", H9005 + H0559), uses the infinitive construct of 'amar ("to say", H0559) with the prefixed preposition le ("to", H9005). This construction functions as a formal introduction to direct speech, similar to a colon in English, signaling that what follows is a direct quotation of Yehovah's words. The infinitive itself carries no tense; its temporal reference depends entirely on the finite verb y'daBer that precedes it.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew, LXX (ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων), and Vulgate (Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens) all preserve the same basic structure: verb of speaking, subject (Yehovah/κύριος/Dominus), prepositional phrase indicating Moses as recipient, and a participle or infinitive introducing direct speech (legōn in Greek, dicens in Latin, corresponding to le'mor in Hebrew). No substantive divergence in meaning or word order appears among these versions for this verse.